How Do You Save a Loose Adult Tooth?

A:

Quick Answer

Dentists can sometimes save an adult tooth that becomes loose from trauma using a procedure known as splinting, explains Advanced Dental Care of Austin. Teeth that are loose due to gum disease require treatments such as dental scaling, root planing and medication, depending on disease severity.

Keep Learning

Thousands of periodontal ligaments help hold each individual tooth in position, notes Advanced Dental Care of Austin. Trauma can cause these ligaments to stretch, resulting in the affected teeth becoming loose in their sockets. In some cases, a dentist can bond a splint to a loose tooth to keep it in place while these ligaments have a chance to heal. The splint anchors the loose tooth to its neighboring teeth so that it does not move.

Sometimes tooth trauma is not due to a single incident, such as an accident, but rather to tooth grinding at night. Patients who have loose teeth as a result of grinding may also receive instructions to wear a nightguard while they sleep to minimize the stress placed on their teeth ligaments, explains Advanced Dental Care of Austin.

Patients who present with loose teeth from gum disease must first undergo a deep teeth cleaning consisting of dental scaling and root planing to eliminate plaque buildup beneath the gums, notes Advanced Dental Care of Austin. They may also require antibiotics to address infections or medication to shrink deep periodontal pockets. In certain severe cases, one or more loose teeth cannot be saved and require extraction.